Never Fade Away
by Theoretician
Summary: "Other things may change us, but we start and end with family."
1. The Start of Something New

** Title: **The Challenge of All Challenges

** Author: **Mademoiselle Juko

** Rating: **PG

** Summary: **A child is discovered in the ruins of Chicago. She was born without a voice box, and she is incapable of most sound. Optimus Prime, without an arm and virtually unable to transform, takes her in and raises her as his daughter.

Unknown to Optimus and the rest of the Autobots, Luvyna has a twin sister. And that twin was unfortunate enough to be taken in by a crafty Decepticon by the name of Ironclaw.

** Content/Warnings: **A healthy (or not so healthy) dose of OCs (about five or six in total), a left armed Optimus, a resurrected Starscream, and a kidnapping.

** Feedback: **Makes me happy and possibly better.

** Spoilers: **A few for Dark of the Moon.

** Disclaimer: **I do not and never will own Transformers. I only own my OCs. This was made purely for fun.

A/N: I KNOW that Mikaela was replaced by Carly in Dark of the Moon, but I hate Carly, so I'm keeping Mikaela in her place.

There was a long, shocked silence.

"You mean to tell me that this little sparkling survived? When so many others died?" Speedprowler finally asked, in a low voice.

"That's exactly what I'm saying." Mikaela looked up at Optimus. "We found her under a couple of slabs of concrete that made a kind of tent over her. It's a miracle, really. Her parents were dead just outside." He nodded slowly.

"And where is she now?" he asked.

"Sam took her to Ratchet. He and some NEST medics are caring for everyone's wounds. And speaking of wounds…" The young woman's blue eyes flicked briefly to Optimus' armless shoulder. The glance did not go unnoticed by the Autobot leader.

"It's nothing to worry about." He did not like to lie to his comrades, but he also did not want them to worry about him. "It could be worse."

"Yeah, you could be dead!" said Drifter. Technostrike elbowed her in the chest. Optimus chose to ignore that comment. He straightened up.

"I am going to see Ratchet. Sideswipe, take Bumblebee and see if there are any more survivors we may have missed. Drifter and Speedprowler, collect all the dead in one place so that we may remove them from the city. Technostrike and Mikaela, go to the survivors. See if there is anything you can do for them." He waited until they had all set off, then went to find Ratchet.

_Elsewhere in the city..._

Ironclaw stared down at the bundle. It was moving slightly, and a series of whimpering noises was issuing from it. Intrigued, he extended one long claw and moved the cloth aside.

"What the…" he muttered. His ruby optics examined the fleshling closely. "What is this thing?" He looked it up on the World Wide Web. "A baby, eh? I wonder…" He picked the child up. It began to cry; a loud, unpleasant, wailing sound that grated on his cochlea. It took all his self-control not to drop the thing and kill it on the spot. But, then again, he supposed that it couldn't all that comfortable to be held by a Decepticon.

—

Sorry it's so short. They'll probably short for a while, until I really get going. Please review; please be as constructive as possible. I hope you'll be back to read more.


	2. Sweetest Honey

**Title: **The Challenge of All Challenges

** Author: **Mademoiselle Juko

** Rating: **PG

** Summary: **A child is discovered in the ruins of Chicago. She was born without a voice box, and she is incapable of most sound. Optimus Prime, without an arm and virtually unable to transform, takes her in and raises her as his daughter.

Unknown to Optimus and the rest of the Autobots, Luvyna has a twin sister. And that twin was unfortunate enough to be taken in by a crafty Decepticon by the name of Ironclaw.

** Content/Warnings: **A healthy (or not so healthy) dose of OCs (about five or six in total), a left armed Optimus, a resurrected Starscream, and a kidnapping.

** Feedback: **Makes me happy and possibly better.

** Spoilers: **A few for Dark of the Moon.

** Disclaimer: **I do not and never will own Transformers. I only own my OCs. This was made purely for fun.

**Chapter Summary:** It's the first day of kindergarten for five year old Luvyna, and she's terrified to leave the base. It's up to Bumblebee to convince her she'll be okay.

'_Song lyrics'_

_**'**_**Movie sound bytes' **

—-

"I'm scared to leave the base, Bumblebee," Luvyna signed.

"**For reasons I cannot fathom...enlighten me,**" came from Bumblebee's radio.

"What if no one likes me?" The red haired child's hands moved with expertise.

"_There goes one more mistake..._**Rubbish."**

"I can't talk."

"**Yes, you can.**" Luvyna frowned at him.

"Then why am I signing?" Bumblebee searched and searched for the right words. Unable to find them, he spoke.

"Because you're special." His vocal processors strained, and he coughed. "You have a special way of talking." He paused, and coughed again. "Like me." Luvyna smiled, but it slid off her face quickly.

"But what if no one likes me?" she repeated.

"_Well, that's just fine...my dearest friend, if you don't mind..._**you have us.**" This time, Luvyna's smile remained.

"Thanks, Bumblebee," she signed, and stretched out her thin arms to give him a hug.

"Luvyna, it's time to get going!" Technostrike poked her head around the door of Bumblebee's bay. Luvyna picked up her little backpack.

"Bye, 'Bee."

"_I love you, my darling, farewell!_"

—

Just a little fluff between Luvyna and Bumblebee. I had a hard time finding sound bytes to fit the conversation, which is why it's really short. Not a very good chapter, I know, but writer's block plagues me constantly.

See that blue button? Click it. Primus commands you.


	3. Birthday Fifteen

** Title: **The Challenge of All Challenges

** Author: **Mademoiselle Juko Pax-Prime

** Rating: **PG

** Summary: **A child is discovered in the ruins of Chicago. She was born without a voice box, and she is incapable of most sound. Optimus Prime, without an arm and virtually unable to transform, takes her in and raises her as his daughter.

Unknown to Optimus and the rest of the Autobots, Luvyna has a twin sister. And that twin was unfortunate enough to be taken in by a crafty Decepticon by the name of Ironclaw.

** Content/Warnings: **A healthy (or not so healthy) dose of OCs (about five or six in total), a left armed Optimus, a resurrected Starscream, and a kidnapping.

** Feedback: **Makes me happy and possibly better.

** Spoilers: **A few for Dark of the Moon.

** Disclaimer: **I do not and never will own Transformers. I only own my OCs. This was made purely for fun.

**Chapter Summary: **Today is Annemarie's fifteenth birthday. She hopes her father will remember, which is hoping against hope.

—-

Annemarie put down the scissors and examined her appearance in the small mirror. Her red hair was short once more, the way her father preferred her to keep it. She glanced over at him. He was concentrating on repairing a Decepticon that he had been working on ever since Annemarie could remember. Annemarie let out a tiny sigh, and put down the mirror. Ironclaw heard her.

"What is it, Anne?" he asked, not looking up.

"Nothing," she replied.

"Really?" Her father picked up another tool. "I can't say I believe you."

"It's not important." The thin teenager picked idly at a scab on her elbow. Ironclaw glanced at her for a split second.

"Now, Anne, don't do that. You don't want another infection, do you?" he scolded. Annemarie frowned and sat on her hands. "Anyway, what's not important?"

"It's just my birthday, that's all," Annemarie muttered.

"What was that? Speak up, child, you know I hate it when you mumble."

"It's my birthday!" she practically shouted.

"That's better," said Ironclaw, giving no indication that he had absorbed the meaning of her words. In fact, it didn't even look like he was talking to her. Annemarie scowled. He was talking to himself! Something must have gone well on his little project.

He worked in silence for several more minutes, before setting down his tools and looking directly at his daughter.

"Your birthday." Annemarie nodded. "Mm-hm. Well, do you remember last week, when I was gone for two days?"

"And I nearly got bitten by a coyote? Yes," she replied.

"And you remember who our friend Optimus Prime is?" Annemarie thought for a moment.

"The uppity mech who thinks he's king of the world?"

"Yes. Well, on my little...excursion...I found out something rather intriguing about him," said Ironclaw.

"What?" asked Annemarie.

"He has a daughter. And do you know what's even _more_ interesting?"

"What!"

"That girl looks exactly like you, Anne. Exactly." Annemarie gasped.

"No way!"

"Oh, yes way. Same red hair—although hers is much longer—, same brown eyes, same long nose, same thin face, same cheekbones...everything."

"You mean…" Annemarie couldn't even complete the sentence. Ironclaw nodded.

"Absolutely. That girl is your sister. Your twin sister."

"Does this….simplify or complicate the plan?"

"Oh, I think it simplifies it quite a lot." Ironclaw gazed down at the Decepticon he had been repairing so carefully. Annemarie stood up and went over to it as well. "Happy birthday, darling."


	4. Bang Bang

**Title: **The Challenge of All Challenges

** Author: **Mademoiselle Juko Pax-Prime

** Rating: **PG

** Summary: **A child is discovered in the ruins of Chicago. She was born without a voice box, and she is incapable of most sound. Optimus Prime, without an arm and virtually unable to transform, takes her in and raises her as his daughter.

Unknown to Optimus and the rest of the Autobots, Luvyna has a twin sister. And that twin was unfortunate enough to be taken in by a crafty Decepticon by the name of Ironclaw.

** Content/Warnings: **A healthy (or not so healthy) dose of OCs (about five or six in total), a left armed Optimus, a resurrected Starscream, and a kidnapping.

** Feedback: **Makes me happy and possibly better.

** Spoilers: **A few for Dark of the Moon.

** Disclaimer: **I do not and never will own Transformers. I only own my OCs. This was made purely for fun.

**Chapter Summary:** At first, it was just going to be a lecture on responsibility. But it turned into something more illuminating, and surprising.

—-

Optimus rubbed his forehead wearily. Luvyna refused to look at him. Her arms and legs were crossed tightly, and seemed unlikely to move for several years. Technostrike stood behind Optimus, looking slightly uncomfortable and a little scared. Finally, after a long silence during which Bumblebee poked his head into the bay and Technostrike waved him away frantically, Optimus spoke.

"Why?" Luvyna did not move for a minute or two.

"Why what?" she signed.

"Technostrike says you ran away from her, ditched school, and wandered the city unsupervised for over two hours before she found you. On your birthday, no less. Care to explain?" Luvyna hesitated even longer.

"Because I hate school." This was news to Optimus. He had always been under the impression that Luvyna rather enjoyed school.

"That doesn't give you the right to ditch," he said. "You know far better than that. Don't you?" Luvyna did not move a muscle. "_Don't you?_" he asked, more forcefully.

"Why does it matter to you?" she signed.

"It _matters_ because I am your father, Luvyna, and—"

"No you aren't!" Luvyna signed suddenly. Technostrike gasped, but Luvyna ignored her. "You are not my father! My father is dead! He died years ago! You only adopted me, and I didn't even have a say in it! What if this isn't what I want?"

Optimus was shocked. This had never happened before, not in the fifteen years since he had taken this child into his care. He was shocked, and hurt.

"Sweetspark—"

"Don't even start with that," Luvyna signed jerkily. "Why didn't you just turn me over to an orphanage?"

"Because…" Optimus paused, in case Luvyna was going to interrupt him again. When she showed no signs of doing so, he continued. "Because an orphanage is a depressing place to grow, from everything we've heard. And I wanted you to have a more normal life." Luvyna made a face like she was giving a snort of disbelief.

"Oh, this is _so_ normal!" she signed. "Being raised by a giant alien robot is _normal!_"

"You know what I mean, Luvyna. I mean raised in a family."

"I don't think this quite qualifies as a family, _Optimus Prime_. You, Technostrike, Bumblebee, Ratchet, Drifter and everyone else—"

"Luvyna—" Technostrike said, looking stricken, but Optimus held up his hand to silence her, and continued to let Luvyna rant in sign language.

"...and it's definitely not normal that I'm probably going to die before all you!" Luvyna's signing had sped up so much that Optimus had only just managed to keep up with her words. She dropped her hands, breathing heavily. Optimus waited for a few moments, in case she was going to continue. She did not move.

"Luvyna. I took you in because I chose to, and because I wanted you to grow up in a loving family. I'm sorry you didn't have a choice, but I can't change that. You are here now. As for skipping school because you hate it, that was your choice. It was a bad choice, yes, and you are going to receive a punishment. But you have made most of your choices in your life. Some good, some bad, but all yours." Optimus paused. Luvyna still did not move. "You are grounded until winter vacation. That's just under a month. During that time, you will go to school. You will come home. You will do your homework. You will eat dinner, and then you will go to bed. Do you understand?" Luvyna nodded stiffly, and stood up.

"Anything else?" she signed. It was impossible for her to have a tone, but Optimus guessed that she was extremely angry.

"No. Go to your room." Luvyna left the bay. The door shut behind her with an echoing bang. Optimus buried his face in his only hand.

"Happy birthday, Luvyna."


	5. You Never Made The Most Of It

**Title: **The Challenge of All Challenges

** Author: **Mademoiselle Juko Pax-Prime

** Rating: **PG

** Summary: **A child is discovered in the ruins of Chicago. She was born without a voice box, and she is incapable of most sound. Optimus Prime, without an arm and virtually unable to transform, takes her in and raises her as his daughter.

Unknown to Optimus and the rest of the Autobots, Luvyna has a twin sister. And that twin was unfortunate enough to be taken in by a crafty Decepticon by the name of Ironclaw.

** Content/Warnings: **A healthy (or not so healthy) dose of OCs (about five or six in total), a left armed Optimus, a resurrected Starscream, and a kidnapping.

** Feedback: **Makes me happy and possibly better.

** Spoilers: **A few for Dark of the Moon.

** Disclaimer: **I do not and never will own Transformers. I only own my OCs. This was made purely for fun.

**Chapter Summary:** Never go to bed angry. There's a chance you'll never be able to make peace.

Luvyna slammed the door to her room and threw herself facedown onto her bed. The comforting scent of Ultra Downy April Fresh fabric softener filled her nose, and she closed her eyes. After a few minutes, she sat up, snatched her iPod off its charger, and put in her earbuds. She turned it on, and Christina Perri's voice filled her ears.

_"Bang bang bang, boy, you're goin' down, down, down, boy—" _

Luvyna lay down again, facing the wall. She didn't like to fight with her father, but she also didn't like apologizing. She had always had problems signing "I'm sorry", for some reason.

Over the course of the next few hours, Technostrike, Bumblebee, and Ratchet all attempted to talk to Luvyna, but she simply ignored them. Mikaela came in at one point, and just sat on Luvyna's bed for a half hour. Optimus did not once come by, or at least, Luvyna didn't hear or see him. Around seven thirty, Speedprowler poked her head in and said that dinner was ready. Luvyna ignored her too.

She didn't bother getting up to turn on her light when night fell, and just laid in bed,

looking at the wall. Her iPod played through all three-hundred eighty seven songs, then started again. Halfway through, it ran out of battery, but Luvyna had fallen asleep. She dreamed of tiny hands dancing around her father, singing _"Bang, she shot you, karma feels so…"_

Around two A.M, Luvyna woke with a start. It was quiet in her room. Luvyna sat up, rubbing the sleep from her brown eyes, and looked around. It was pitch black, which was odd. She always had a night light plugged in by her desk that turned on automatically when it got dark. _The light bulb's just gone out, that's all,_ she thought, shrugging and preparing to go back to sleep. But someone—or something—grabbed her. She opened her mouth instinctively, and a hand pressed itself over her lips. It was not a human hand.

"Don't scream, darling. It'll just cause you unnecessary injury," said a gravelly voice that she did not recognize. Luvyna struggled, and cold metal cut into her cheek. "Now, you see? Look at what you made me do," said the voice, as whoever was holding her dragged her out of her bed. "Just stay still, and this will go quite smoothly. The rag, love." Luvyna wriggled hard, but the arms holding her were quite strong. _Let me go!_ She wanted to scream, but she couldn't have, even without the hand over her mouth. She wished hard for someone, anyone, to hear the struggle and to come to her aid. But no one came.

"Now, darling, time for you to go to sleep," said the gravelly voice. A soft rag was pressed over her mouth and nose and Luvyna smelled something sickly sweet.


	6. Dancing Slowly In An Empty Room

**A/N: I've stopped putting the header, because I think it's a bit tedious to have to scroll down through it. Hope you enjoy this chapter!**

—

When Luvyna finally came to, she did not know where she was. Well, a darkened, cold room, obviously, but she did not know where the room was. Her head hurt, and when she pushed her hair back from her face, her hand brushed against dried blood. Upon feeling more carefully, she concluded that there were three deep cuts in her cheek.

One of the first things that Luvyna attempted was to open the steel door. It did not budge. There was a small door, like one people used to let their cats in and out at the bottom, but someone had put a piece of wood in front of it and the door itself was too small for Luvyna to fit through it in any case.

She spent a few minutes hammering on the door with all her might, but only succeeded in bruising the sides of her hands. Frowning, she sat down in a corner. The room was cement, so the chances of her removing bricks to escape were beyond none. _At least I can move around_, she thought. She hated small spaces. And the room was clean. She probably could have eaten of the floor. Not that she planned to, of course.

Luvyna chewed on her forearm without even realizing it; it was a habit she thought she'd kicked when she was nine. She had constantly had bruises on her forearms, and had to wear long sleeves to cover them up. People had thought she was being beaten. Finally, after several weeks of training herself not to chew on her arms, and lots of encouragement from her father, Technostrike, and the other 'bots, she had rid herself of the bad habit. But now it was back.

She had been chewing long enough to leave a bruise, and she scowled. Even in the tiny bit of light in the room, she could see the purple and black injury. If only she could be like Harry Potter, and heal it by magic. But if she had been a witch, she would have magicked herself out of wherever she was and back home.

Home. That was where she wanted to be. Home with her father, with Technostrike, Bumblebee, Ratchet...everyone. She tried not to think about the possibility of her never seeing them again. Especially since the last words she and Optimus had exchanged had been angry ones. She would have given anything to be back on base, and to tell Optimus she was sorry.

Luvyna hoped very much that they knew she was gone, and that they had some lead as to where she was.

As the silence pressed on her ears, Luvyna wanted to scream. She wanted to swear and curse the people who had taken her away, and demand that they take her back home. But seeing as she could no more have screamed than flown through the wall, she settled for simply crying into her knees.


	7. Only Whispers Can Tell

"Optimus!"

Optimus was brought out of recharge unexpectedly, and it took him a few seconds to register that Technostrike was standing in front of him.

"What is it?" he asked. The young femme seemed to be shocked, scared and angry all at the same time.

"It's Luvyna. Come and see," she said. Optimus was on his feet before she had even taken a step.

"Has she run away?" he demanded, following Technostrike to Luvyna's bedroom.

"No, it's worse." Optimus frowned. What could be worse?

They reached Luvyna's room, and Optimus was a little surprised to see almost all the Autobots standing in front of it, conversing nervously. They all stopped talking abruptly when they saw Optimus, and stepped aside.

"What's going on?" he asked. The door to Luvyna's room was open, but he didn't see her anywhere. He looked to Ratchet. The medic shook his head, and gestured to Arcee, one of the few 'bots small enough to fit into Luvyna's bedroom. She handed him a chunk of wood that appeared to have come off one of the trees outside Luvyna's window. The bark was rough and splintery, but there was no mistaking the three long gashes in the wood.

"Do you remember?" whispered Arcee. She seemed to be unable to say much else. Optimus' grip tightened on the wood, and he did not speak.

Oh, yes. He remembered. He remembered what those claw marks meant very well. What despair they brought to the families who found them in their home. He remembered those marks, and he despised them.

A small noise made him look up. Drifter seemed to be crying. Bumblebee put his arm around the black femme, emitting a quiet chirp. With a jolt, Optimus remembered that Drifter had seen the claw marks in her own home, when she was a young sparkling. His grip tightened even more, and the chunk of wood nearly broke under the pressure.

"What do we do?" asked Bluestreak. For once, he had been completely silent. Optimus opened his hand and looked at the wood.

"We plan. We act. We bring Ironclaw to justice," he said.

"And how—" Chromia began, but Optimus cut her off.

"I will rip out his spark chamber and feed it to him," he said, and Chromia actually took a step back.


	8. Oh Memories, Where'd You Go?

**A/N: Title and summary has been changed, to hopefully draw in more readers. Not that I don't love my current readers! I'd just like to get more people to read my stuff. **

**Anyway, I'm putting the header just this once, for the new title and summary. Enjoi~**

** Title: **Never Fade Away

** Author: **Mademoiselle Juko Pax-Prime

** Rating: **PG

** Summary: **Anthony Brandt once said, "Other things may change us, but we start and end with family." True, but I doubt his family is made up of autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron, and he's never been kidnapped by an evil Decepticon. Luvyna was not so lucky.

** Content/Warnings: **A healthy (or not so healthy) dose of OCs (about five or six in total), a left armed Optimus, a resurrected Starscream, and a kidnapping.

** Feedback: **Makes me happy and possibly better.

** Spoilers: **A few for Dark of the Moon.

** Disclaimer: **I do not and never will own Transformers. I only own my OCs. This was made purely for fun.

—

Luvyna ached all over from being hunched against the wall for so long. Her throat felt dry and scratchy, and she wished to go home and for a glass of water alternately. Her nose hurt from being rubbed on her sleeve so much. And she was cold.

She had no idea how long she had been in that little room. She had not slept at all. She refused to let herself even doze. She had been tired at one point, but after a while the feeling faded away.

Luvyna looked listlessly at the wall opposite her, her mind wandering.

_ -Flashback: Luvyna's fourteenth birthday-_

The sight of the yellow Camaro was a welcome sight to Luvyna, especially since Mikaela was sitting behind the wheel. Luvyna ran to the car and climbed into the passenger seat, spitting a strand of long red out of her mouth.

"Hi 'Kaela, hi 'Bee," she signed.

"Hi, sweetie. How was school?" asked Mikaela. She kept her hands on the steering wheel, although Bumblebee was the one doing the driving.

"Bad. Very bad," Luvyna replied, pouting slightly.

"Oh? Why?" inquired the older woman.

"Well, for starters, I forgot my lunch, so I'm hungry. Then I forgot my math homework in Sideswipe, and my pencil case. I got a C on my running test, then I found out I have to retake

my science test, and I have to write a skit for French class." Luvyna paused, thinking. "Oh, and I got a demerit for being late. Great birthday." She sighed and clasped her hands in her lap.

"Oh, don't worry, Luvyna. Things can only go up from here," said Mikaela kindly. "We're all going out to dinner tonight! A restaurant of your choice, and everyone's coming. Ratchet made it so that even the Autobots can eat tonight." Luvyna perked up instantly.

"Really? How did he do that?"

"I have no idea. Very science-y. Very high tech and complicated. Anyway, it'll be a lot of fun, right?" Mikaela paused to count on her fingers. "Prowl, Optimus, Technostrike, Drifter Wheelie, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Ratchet, Bluestreak, Arcee, Bumblebee, Chromia, Elita-One, Haywire, Speedprowler, Will, Annabelle, Sarah, me, Sam, Maggie, Glen, Miles, Epps, Jack, and Miko. Plus you, so that's twenty-seven."

"Don't forget Bulkhead," Luvnya signed quickly.

"And Bulkhead. Twenty-eight. Wow, I pity the restaurant that gets us," said Mikaela, laughing.

_"I'm so excited!"_ came from Bumblebee's speakers. Mikaela laughed again, and Luvyna smiled.

"I'll help you study for your science test before we leave, and Sarah can probably help you with your skit." Mikaela looked at Luvyna, who nodded. "Day looking up?"

"Definitely," Luvyna signed, and she gave Mikaela a hug.

_-End Flashback-_

Luvyna smiled, and shifted into a more comfortable position. That dinner had been a lot of fun, and she would definitely never forget it.

She was about to lapse into another memory (which helped distract her from her unhappiness and homesickness) when the door opened. She blinked at the sudden onrush of light. Once her eyes had adjusted to the brightness, she looked at who ever had opened the door, and gasped.

—-

**Cliffhangaaaaaaarrrr! Don't you just love them? :3 (Although most of you can probably guess what's gonna happen...)**

**If you want to hear about Luvyna's birthday dinner, just head on over to my profile, look at my stories, and click "Smiles All Around" for a first-person recount of the event. Luvyna's point of view.**

**If you want to see the holoforms for Technostrike and Drifter, and see what Luvyna and Annemarie look like, check out my profile. The links are at the bottom!**

**Oh, and all stories concerning Luvyna as Optimus' daughter (except Never Fade Away) will identified as "An Eastern Screech-Owl story" in the summary. **


	9. Author Note

**Author's Announcement**

**Hello, readers! I've noticed a lack of reviews in the past few weeks. Now, I know many of you are in school, as am I, but reviews motivate me. They make me want to write more. No reviews = no motivation. I really do want to finish this story, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it is not being read anymore. I don't want to abandon this fan fiction! Please review, just so that I know **_**someone**_** out there is reading my work. Thank you.**

**Mademoiselle Juko Pax-Prime**


	10. Leaving Now Would Be A Good Idea

Annemarie frowned at her sister. The stupid girl was just sitting on the ground, staring at her.

"Well? Get up," Annemarie ordered. Her sister did not move. Huffing in irritation, Annemarie bent down, grabbed her by the arm and hauled her to her feet. "Let's move it."

Annemarie marched her sister to where Ironclaw was putting the finishing touches on his "masterpiece." He looked up when she came in.

"Ah, Luvyna!" he said, looking at Annemarie's sister. So that was her name…weird name, Annemarie thought. "How are you?" Luvyna glared defiantly at him. Ironclaw snapped his fingers. "That's right. You can't speak, can you, little missy? Oh, what a shame. Now I won't have the pleasure of hearing you grieve…" Luvyna's eyebrows contracted.

"Why did you want me to bring her in here?" asked Annemarie. Ironclaw took his sweet time answering. He put aside his tools, wiped a bit of oil of off his claws, and flexed them thoughtfully.

"You will find out soon enough, sweet Annemarie," he said softly, turning towards the entrance to the main cave. Annemarie scowled, and her grip tightened on Luvyna's arm.

** Autobot Base**

Everyone was looking apprehensively at Optimus. He was staring at his arm, looking both angry and thoughtful. He flexed the fingers a few times, as if testing his ability to control them. It was so quiet that you could hear the gears inside of his arm working. Finally, Optimus spoke.

"I do not know. I cannot transform, therefore I am far less mobile. And the Grand Canyon is quite far away." He looked at Ratchet. The CMO shook his head.

"There's nothing I can do, Optimus." Optimus looked down at his arm again.

"What about by air?" piped up Moonracer. Everyone looked at her, and for a moment she seemed to quail under the pressure. But her confidence returned quickly, and she drew herself up to her full height. "We could fly there. NEST has nice, big planes. One or two should fit the rescue party. Who's going?"

Bumblebee, Technostrike and Sideswipe raised their hands. "Okay, so that would just be four of you. Optimus is the only one who exceeds twenty feet, and the rest of you can stay in vehicular mode. Right?"

"Yes, Moony, but that still leaves the obstacle of actually getting _into_ the canyon undetected," Chromia reminded her young sister. Moonracer frowned, trying to think of a solution.

"Under cover of darkness. It will not matter if someone sees you; we already destroyed Chicago and Mission City once," said Prowl. Moonracer snapped her fingers at him.

"Bingo, Prowl," she said. "So how about it?" she asked, looking at Optimus. He was quiet for a few moments, thinking.

"Alright," he said, and Moonracer clapped her hands gleefully. "We leave at sundown."


	11. I Wasn't Born To Be A Skeleton

Ironclaw paced back and forth, his hands clasped behind his back. He constantly looked outside the cave, searching for any sign of movement, but time and time again he was disappointed.

Prime had to come. He _had_ to. Ironclaw didn't know what he would do if the Autobot leader did not show. That mech had something that Ironclaw wanted very, very much—something that would make all of his work of the past fifteen years worth it.

The two girls were still standing there; Annemarie was beginning to look annoyed. Her sister looked tired and scared at the same time. Ironclaw paid no attention. He listened intently, jumping at every little sound.

The cave grew steadily darker as the sun went down, until only the red glow of Ironclaw's optics remained. _It's been almost two days, _the Decepticon thought furiously. _Surely the Autobots will do _some_thing! _He continued to pace faster and faster, until he was almost running back and forth. His clawed hands clenched, digging into each other.

Then, the sound of an engine reached his audio receptors. A wicked grin spread across Ironclaw's face.

_Not much longer, Lord Starscream._

**Yes, another short chapter. I'm keeping you in suspense :3 But don't worry, not much longer. I'm just building up to the ending, which I think you guys will enjoy…**


	12. We Are A Hurricane

Optimus moved as quietly as he could into position. He peered around a large boulder, searching for any signs of movement. Seeing none, he raised his hand and gave the all-clear signal. Technostrike and Sideswipe transformed, and crept to their hiding places; Technostrike crouched behind a boulder, and Sideswipe hid in the shadow of an overhang. Bumblebee let his engine purr loudly, echoing in the canyon, and Optimus gave him the "thumbs up" (though in Optimus' case it was just one thumb up). Then the scout transformed and hid behind a boulder adjacent to Technostrike's. Optimus opened a communication channel with all three of them.

_"Does everyone understand the plan?" _he asked. He got three positive answers. _"Excellent. Wait for my signal, Bumblebee." _He cut off the link, and focused his attention on the cave. It was high up off of the ground, with no obvious means of reaching it. But with a little bit of luck, they would not have to reach it at all.

Ironclaw emerged from the mouth of the cave, and leapt down to the ground. In one clawed hand, he held a long staff with prongs on the end. He looked around a little suspiciously.

"Have you finally come for your precious daughter, Prime?" he purred, walking exactly in the middle of Technostrike's and Bumblebee's boulders. "I was beginning to doubt the effectiveness of my mark…" He flexed his other hand, the claws glinting dully in the moonlight. "'Has it been too long?' I wondered. 'Have you forgotten those marks?' But I was wrong to doubt them; you are here, after all!"

Optimus shifted his gaze to Bumblebee, and found the scout watching him expectantly. He paused for a few moments, letting Ironclaw continue his monologue, and then gave a short, curt nod to Bumblebee. Bumblebee vaulted over the boulder, and shot at Ironclaw. As planned, he missed, and Ironclaw whipped around, cackling. He aimed the staff at Bumblebee, and a ray of blue rings shot out and hit the yellow-and-black bot in the chest.

Bumblebee froze in his place. Optimus glanced at Technostrike, and saw her about ready to jump over her rock and rip Ironclaw to shreds. He nodded at her, and she leaped over the boulder and whipped out her gun. But Ironclaw was faster than she expected, and he spun around and shot her in the chest. And _not_ with the staff; he had a cannon mounted on his right arm that had not been there before.

Technostrike flew back and hit the canyon wall beneath the cave, making it shake. The boom was sure to have been heard in the city. But that did not concern Optimus right at the moment; it was the fact that Ironclaw's shot had gone straight through Technostrike's chest, and she was not moving, and that a red-haired figured fell from the mouth of the cave and landed on the ground with a sickening thud.

"No!" he shouted, and made the mistake of moving out from behind his rock. "Luvyna!" Ironclaw whirled around, and before Optimus could react, the Decepticon had hit him with the staff's ray, immobilizing him.

"Ha! You fool, Prime!" the clawed Transformer cackled, running over to him. He pushed Optimus over onto the ground. "You're mine now!"

Optimus fully expected Ironclaw to kill him with a single shot to the head, but instead the Decepticon tossed aside his staff and pried open Optimus' protective chest armor. For a moment, Optimus wondered what he was doing, then realized with horror that Ironclaw was going after the Matrix. He tried to struggle, but the immobilizer obviously did its job, and Ironclaw reached for the Matrix.

But suddenly, he turned, and fired at something. Optimus could not see what, but Ironclaw was obviously not hitting it, because he growled angrily and continued to shoot. Then, a blade that Optimus recognized as Sideswipe's imbedded itself in Ironclaw's chest. The Decepticon was pulled off of Optimus, and flung against the opposite wall, where he slumped to the ground and moved no more.

"Hang on, Optimus," said Sideswipe. He seemed to be fiddling with something. Then, there was another blue ray, and Optimus regained control of his limbs. He stood up quickly, and closed his armor. Sideswipe saluted his leader, then turned and recovered Bumblebee. Immediately, the latter ran over to Technostrike, and the teenage girl who lay motionless beside her.

**There, a longer chapter to make up for the two short ones, and the short chapter after this one. I'm going to leave you hanging for a while, just because I can –w—But next time I post, I will post TWO chapters!**


	13. Everything I Do Is Bittersweet

Bumblebee stared at Technostrike's body, his optics misting over. The femme's chest had been ripped open by the force of Ironclaw's shot, and energon dripped sickeningly from the edges of the wound, staining her white armor. Bumblebee looked down, and squeezed his optics shut, but the image of Technostrike stayed. It was silent, as Sideswipe checked Ironclaw's vitals and Optimus examined the body of the girl.

Then a small noise reached Bumblebee's audio receptors. His head snapped up, and he saw Technostrike's optics shutter feebly, and open.

"Bumblebee?" she murmured weakly. Bumblebee gasped. Technostrike tried to sit up, but fell back with a whimper of pain.

"Don't move," Bumblebee rasped. "You're hurt badly. Just sit tight. We'll get you back to base as soon as we find Luvyna." Technostrike nodded, and Bumblebee stood up. He walked to where Optimus was crouched over the girl's body. His leader glanced up briefly as the scout approached.

"Is it…?" Bumblebee asked hesitantly. Optimus did not get the chance to reply; a small rock bounced off of his head with a clang.

"What-?" Optimus looked up, confused.

Luvyna was peering over the ledge where the cave was located, tears streaming down her face. "Luvyna!" Optimus stood up and put out his hand. The red-haired teen stepped onto it, and Optimus raised her to eye level. She was shaking like a leaf, and her face was drained of color. Her hands were clenched into fists, and there were dark circles under her brown eyes.

"Luvyna?" Technostrike lifted her head. Optimus knelt down beside his young weapons specialist, and held out his hand. Luvyna saw the wound in her Guardian's chest, and had to sit down.

"Don't worry, Luvyna, she'll be fine," Optimus said quietly. Luvyna nodded slowly, averting her eyes from Technostrike's injury and looking at Bumblebee.

_"I'm just a white blood cell, fightin' like hell for you!" _ Luvyna smiled a little, and Bumblebee chirped happily.

"Well, Ironclaw's dead," said Sideswipe, coming up behind Optimus. "What was he trying to do? Merge sparks with you?" he added, only half-jokingly.

"No, Sideswipe. He wanted the Matrix. Only Primus knows what he wanted it _for,_" Optimus replied. Luvyna wiped her eyes and began signing furiously.

"He's got Starscream in there, but he's dead. He's been repairing him for fifteen years, and all he needed was the Matrix to bring him to life." Optimus raised an optic ridge.

"How do you know all of this?" he asked. Luvyna hesitated.

"Annemarie told me. She fell…" She looked around. "Where is she?" Optimus and Bumblebee exchanged looks. Now they knew who the girl on the ground was.

"She broke her neck, Luvyna," Optimus said gently. "She's dead." Luvyna gazed sadly at her father.

"She was my sister," she signed slowly. "But she turned bad…"

"No, Luvyna," said Technostrike, her optics closed. "She was just raised by the wrong type of family…it wasn't her fault."


	14. I Will Be Chasing Your Starlight

Luvyna stared at her book, but she wasn't actually reading it. The page had not turned in twenty minutes. But no one noticed. They were all worrying about something else.

Luvyna was sitting on the floor outside of the medical bay. The Autobots were standing in the same hallway, and it was a little bit cramped. It was so quiet that Luvyna could hear Elita-One's gears whirring as the femme leaned her head against Optimus' shoulder. Cooling fans could also be heard, and it was driving Luvyna crazy.

What could be taking Ratchet so long? Luvyna knew the answer to that, but it didn't stop her from wondering. The CMO was in the medical bay, working to repair Technostrike. It was a sensitive project, and Ratchet had locked them all out of the bay until further notice, even Optimus.

They had now been waiting for five and a half hours, according to Luvyna's watch, and they had heard nothing. Luvyna had not eaten dinner, and she was beginning to nod off. She had not slept since returning to base.

"Luvyna," Optimus said quietly. "Why don't you go to bed?"

"I don't want to," Luvyna signed, stifling a yawn.

"You need your sleep. I promise I'll wake you up when Ratchet comes out, o-?" Optimus stopped talking as the medical bay doors swung open. Luvyna scrambled to her feet to avoid being stepped on as Ratchet walked out. All of the Autobots straightened up, looking expectantly at him.

"Well?" Drifter burst out. Ratchet looked at her, wearing a very serious expression. Luvyna's heart beat a little faster, and she bit her lip nervously. The seconds dragged by as Ratchet stared around at them all.

"I'm afraid…" he began, and Luvyna clapped a hand over her mouth. Arcee's hands clenched into fists, and Chromia pressed her fingers to her lip plates. "…She'll be just fine. All she needs is rest now."

Luvyna felt dizzy, and she leaned against the wall. Arcee put a hand over her optics with a sigh of relief.

"Thank Primus," said Elita and Prowl in unison.

"It was a little tricky," Ratchet admitted. "But I managed to patch her up, and her internal systems will take care of the rest."

"Can I see her?" signed Luvyna.

"You'll all get a chance to see her. Only a few at a time, though. Luvyna, you and Optimus can go in there now, and Chromia, Elita, Moonracer, Firestar and Beta, you can go in after them," said Ratchet. Luvyna dashed past him into the medical bay.

She hurried to where Technostrike was lying on a recharge berth, her optics closed. Luvyna sat in the little space that there was by her Guardian's shoulder, arranging herself into the most comfortable position that she could. Optimus walked up just as Technostrike opened her optics.

"How do you feel, Technostrike?" Luvyna signed.

"So-so," the weapons specialist replied, lifting her head slightly and looking at her chest. Only a few faint weld marks suggested that anything had happened to it.

"Ratchet did a superb job of repairing your armor," said Optimus. "Of course, I wouldn't have suspected anything less of him."

"Me either." Technostrike looked at Luvyna. "How're you feeling, kiddo?"

"Tired," Luvyna signed. "I haven't slept at all." Technostrike gazed at her for a moment, as though she were thinking. Then, she addressed Optimus.

"What's the word on the bodies?" she asked.

"I delegated the task of retrieving both Ironclaw's and Starscream's bodies to your sisters," Optimus said, referring to Elita-One, Arcee and Chromia. "But they wanted to wait until we had word of your condition. And the girl's body is waiting to be buried." Luvyna looked down at the mention of Annemarie. Optimus noticed this, and changed the subject quickly. "I received word that a fair is opening up in the Los Angeles area. I thought it might be interesting to attend."

"A fair? I've heard of those. It has rides and food and lots of vendors, right?" said Technostrike, looking at Luvyna for confirmation. She nodded.

"A lot of my classmates talk about them," she signed. "They say they're a lot of fun."

"Then we'll go," said Technostrike. "Every single one of us."

"Agreed," said Optimus. "As soon as you are recovered, Technostrike." Luvyna smiled.

She signed good-bye to Technostrike and left the bay. As she walked to her room, she thought about her life. How different it was from everyone else's. How it grated against most people's concept of normal. But living in a family made up of both humans and alien robots _was_ Luvyna's "normal." A twenty-eight foot autonomous robotic organism from the planet Cybertron was a familiar sight to her. It wasn't strange to her that most of her family could transform into automobiles.

As she opened the door to her bedroom, she saw Ratchet out of the corner of her eye, walking to the supply room. He looked almost cheerful, something that Luvyna had very rarely heard of him being. She laughed silently to herself.

In her room, she saw two photos on her desk. One was a picture of Luvyna, Mikaela, Sam, the Lennoxes, Epps, Jack, Miko, Miles, Maggie, and Glen, altogether in front of the Aquarium of the Pacific. Mikaela's arm was around Luvyna's shoulders, and all twelve of them were grinning happily at the camera.

The other was from her fourteenth birthday, with twenty-eight people sitting around five end-to-end tables in Applebee's. Luvyna smiled. On the outside, they all looked like perfectly normal, happy human beings.

But there is more to them than meets the eye.


	15. Announcement

**Author Announcement**

**There is an important announcement on my profile pertaining to this and other stories, and there is also a poll I would like you to look at and vote on.**

**Thank you!**


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